Five valve manifold with angle bonnet details

ABSTRACT

A multi-valve manifold is provided, including a valve body having a periphery about which are placed a series of valves. At least one of the series of valves fits within a depression in the valve body.

attached two assembly drawings showing the general arrangement of two types of five valve manifold incorporating angle bonnet features. The drawings attached are

-   Drawing R0010, revision A, Aug. 27, 2004 showing a 5 valve, flange     by flange manifold incorporating the angled bonnet feature -   Drawing R0011, revision A, Aug. 27, 2004 showing a 5 valve, flange     by pipe manifold incorporating the angled bonnet feature

Two further drawings are attached showing the same type of manifold valve with the conventional arrangement of the valve bonnets, these drawings are:

-   Drawing R0012, revision A, showing a 5 valve, flange by pipe     manifold with the equalize and vent valves located on the front face     of the manifold.

Drawing R0013, revision A, showing a 5 valve, flange by flange manifold with the equalize and vent valves located on the front face of the manifold.

This type of manifold is used in flow measurement applications in a variety of industries, including oil and gas, petrochemical, water treatment and power production. The manifold valve, is installed between the primary flow measurement element (an orifice plate or similar) and the transmitter. The purpose of the primary element is to cause a pressure drop in the pipeline. There is a relationship between the size of the pressure differential caused by the primary element and the flow through the pipeline. A transmitter, typically an electronic device, measures the pressure differential.

In such an installation there are two independent passages from the primary element though the manifold valve to the transmitter. One passage is from the high pressure side of the primary element and the other passage is from the low pressure side of the primary element. Two isolation or block valves (one on each of the high side and low side) are located within the manifold to allow the transmitter to be isolated from the pipeline. In the drawings attached the isolation/block valves are located on the sides of the manifold.

The other three valves in a five valve manifold are typically located on the front face of the manifold body (see drawings R0012 and R0013). These valves are either used as equalizer valves or vent valves. Five valve manifold can have either 2 equalizer valves and one vent valve, or one equalizer valve and two vent valves.

The equalizer valve(s) are used to control communication between the high pressure side passage and the low pressure side passage. When the transmitter is measuring differential pressures the high side and the low side are isolated from each other and thus the equalizer valves are closed. When it is necessary to calibrate the transmitter the equalizer valves are opened, allowing the high side and the low side to be connected. The pressure on both sides is now equalized and the transmitter can be zeroed and calibrated.

The vent valve(s) is used to process fluid to be vented, either to bleed off pressure or to bleed off unwanted accumulations of air, gas or other fluids that would affect the pressure measurement.

In the currently available manifolds of this type these three valves (the equalizer and vent valves) are located on the face of the manifold. Drawings R0012 and R0013 show this arrangement. The industry standard spacing between the high pressure side and the low pressure of the primary flow measurement element is 2⅛″, center to center. This standard spacing imposes constraints on the location of the equalizer/vent valves and forces those valves, when located on the face of the manifold to be quite close together. This in turn requires that the handles on those individual valves to be quite small in order to prevent the handles from interfering with each other. These manifold valves are hand operated. The close spacing of the equalizer/vent valves does not allow much room for hand operation of the vent/equalize valves. Further the need for small handles makes those valves more difficult to turn by hand.

The invention disclosed by the attached drawings (R0010 and R0011) shows two of these three valves located on surfaces angled off the front face of the manifold body. This permits the handles to be separated allowing for both larger handles and more access room for hand operation. This makes operation of these valves both easier and more convenient. 

1. A multivalve manifold comprising a generally I-shaped body, a series of valves placed about the periphery of said body; the body having at least one depression therein on its periphery; and at least one of said series of valves being positioned in said depression.
 2. A multivalve manifold comprising a generally T-shaped body, a series of valves placed about the periphery of said body; the body having at least one depression therein on its periphery; and at least one of said series of valves being positioned in said depression. 